Helping women access menstrual products

70 per cent of women in Sri Lanka don’t have access to menstrual products

Did you know that about 70 per cent of women in Sri
Lanka don’t have access to menstrual products?

Inspired by their mother who had no access to menstrual
products while growing up in Sri Lanka, Rachel Ram, a second-year student
studying psychology and forensic science at UTM, and Steffi Ram, a master’s
student at University of Guelph, have started a not-for-profit organization
called The Red Tent Society to provide menstrual hygiene products to women in
Sri Lanka and end stigma around menstrual hygiene in their hometown. Last week, The
Medium spoke with Rachel Ram to discuss their organization and how
it began.

Ram was two-years-old when her family immigrated to Canada
from Sri Lanka to escape the civil war. Despite being so little when she moved
here, Ram has stayed connected to her culture and country which has led her to
do something for her own people back home.

In 2019, she started The Red Tent Society and registered
as a not-for-profit organization under the Canadian laws to ensure its
credibility to donors and sponsors.
Their organization is currently a federally incorporated NPO with Corporations
Canada, according to Ram.

In
collaboration with Lunapads, a Canadian business that produces washable, cloth
menstrual products, the aim of The Red Tent Society is to provide disposable
sanitary napkins for a year.

After one year, the group plans to provide
them with reusable napkins which can last up to eight-ten years. The reusable
napkins are more sustainable and eco-friendly. In order for these women to
reuse these napkins, The Red Tent Society also hopes to build washing stations
by 2020 to make it easier for these women to wash their reusable sanitary
napkins.

There
are about 75 women registered to receive menstrual products, along with that,
they are also enrolled in three day classes that will teach them about
reproductive health, break down stigma around periods, and educate them about
women empowerment. With these menstrual products, young girls will not have to
skip school during their monthly periods.

The
Red Tent Society is currently funded by sponsors mostly from the Tamil
Community in Canada, some of which are Eagle Star Insurance Inc, Life 100, and
Liland Insurance (a Filipino owned insurance company.) They are also
collaborating with some donors in Sri Lanka including Christian International
and Aram Co, Abdin Jewellers, and Uni-Royal Steel Manufacturers.

Rachel
and Steffi Ram hope to collaborate with more local businesses in their
hometown, Mullaitivu, to distribute menstrual products among more women. Within
two years, they hope to expand their initiative to another city and provide
menstrual products and hygiene education to more women.

Overall,
Ram’s advice to anyone looking to give back to their community is “to look past
what is going wrong in our own lives and relook outside our circle. Then, and
only then you will see the problems people are facing and that is how you will
find your own story.”